Watercraft with submersible marine observation chamber



W. L. POST April 23, 1968 WATERCRAFT WITH SUBMERSIBLE MARINE OBSERVATIONCHAMBER Filed Oct. 14, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. PO87;

W/L L L444 1.

Adz mew, 14441144 April 23, 1968 w, 051 3,379,157

WATERCRAFT WITH SUBMERSIBLE MARINE OBSERVATION CHAMBER Filed Oct. 14,1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. W/LL/4M 4. P067,

Aim 12M; 1W

This invention relates to watercraft equipped for sub surface marineobservation, and more particularly to a craft provided with anobservation chamber movable from an elevated position above the watersurface to a lowered position in which the chamber is at least partiallysubmerged.

Conventional marine observation water-erart are deep hulled vesselsaccommodating one or more persons in the hull below the water surfacefor viewing through windows. Because of their depth, these vessels arenecessarily large and expensive to build, present high inertia andfrictional drag against movement, and are thus very slow and expensiveto propel through the water.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a marineobservation craft which will overcome the above-outlined disadvantagesof the conventional craft.

It is an important object of the invention to provide a marineobservation chamber, in capsule form, which may be carried above thewater surface by a watercraft in motion so as to prevent drag or anyhindering effect which will reduce the speed of the craft, but whichchamber is readily lowerable to a submerged position for viewingpurposes when the craft has stopped or is operating at reduced speed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination of awatercraft with a movable marine observation chamber having theabove-described characteristics, in which the observation chamber ispivotally-mounted to swing from its elevated to its lowered position andfor which eflicient and simply constructed means are provided to performthis movement and to return the cabin to its elevated position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a combination of awatercraft with a marine observation cabin having the above-describedcharacteristics, wherein is further provided a ballast water chamberattached to the observation cabin for receiving ballast water to movethe cabin to its submerged position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a combination of awatercraft with a marine observation cabin having the above-describedcharacteristics, wherein is further provided means for jettisoning theballast water from said chamber to return the cabin to its elevatedposition through resulting buoyancy of the cabin and chamber in the bodyof water in which they are partially submerged.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the inventionare set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention,itself, however, both as to its organization and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbest be understood from the following description of a specificembodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout theseveral figures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a boat provided with a marine observation cabinaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the combination shown in FIG. 1, withparts broken away to reveal the observation cabin, in its elevatedposition, as shown in solid lines, and in its lowered position as shownin broken lines;

td States Patent FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section ofthe observation cabin mounted in a well in the boat, the cabin beingshown in its lowered position; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3, and lookingin the direction of the arrows.

The term watercraft as used herein is intended to cover any type ofvessel capable of floating or moving on the surface of a body of waterincluding, for example, boats, rafts, pontoons, floats, and the like. Anobservation cabin, such as that to be described later herein, and whichaccording to the invention is combined with the watercraft, may bepivoted between ontoons, d avited from a vessel, or pivoted in a livewell on a boat.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a preferred embodimentof the invention is shown as comprising the combination of a boat 10equipped with a movable, and in this instance, a pivoted chamber, orcabin, generally indicated by the reference numeral 12. The boat 10 maybe of any conventional construction, size, shape and appearance, but ina preferred embodiment illustrated, is provided with a live well 14defined by the fore-and-aft walls 16, 18 and the sidewalls 20, and beingopen at the top and the bottom to admit water through the bottom to alevel which coincides with the level of the surface of the body of waterin which the boat is floated at the exterior of the hull. A pair ofaligned stub shafts 22. protrude into the well from the sidewalls 2i)and are received in suitable sockets on the observation cabin to act aspivot shafts for swinging movements of the cabin between its upper andlower positions. Similarly, a pair of brackets 24 of inverted L-shapeare fastened to the sidewalls 20 of the well to act as stops forlimiting the downward pivotal motion of the observation chamber.

While the observation cabin may take many different shapes and may beformed of wood, metal, plastic, or any suitable material, the cabin 12of the preferred embodiment, with reference particularly to FIGS. 3 and4, is shown as comprising a generally rectangular chamber havingfore-and-aft walls 26, 27 respectively, which are inclined downwardlytoward each other, and parallel sidewalls 39 which are polyhedral inshape and larger at the top than at the bottom. The rear wall 28 is bentto form a forwardly-projecting, horizontal seat portion 30, and theforward wall projects forwardly and downwardly at 32, and thenrearwardly and downwardly at 34 to enclose with the bottom wall 36 aforweirdly-projecting chamber portion 38 for the legs of one or moreobservers. A wrap-around window 40 is provided to cover openings in theside and forward walls 36, 26 retained by upper and lower flangesupports 42, 44. The window 40 may be made of any suit able transparentmaterial, such as glass or plastic, capable of being bent to the shapeof the observation cabin. A small flat pane 48 of window glass, orplastic, is similarly secured by similar flanged supports 42, 44 tocover an opening in the rear wall 28. Suitable seals, not shown, areprovided in the flanged supports 42, 44 for sealing the cabin 12 inwater-tight condition at the window peripheries.

The top of the cabin is partially covered by a waterballast tankgenerally indicated at 50 and which comprises a closed receptacle havinga bottom wall 52, rear wall 54, sidewalls 56, and inclined rearwardlyand upwardly-directed upper wall 58. Tank 50 thus formed is completelywatertight, being of triangular cro s-section as best viewed in FIG. 3.The sidewalls 56 are provided with exterior sockets 6%? which journalthe pivot stub shafts 22 for turning the cabin 12 and theintegrally-secured ballast tank 59 between their several positions to bedescribed. The cabin and tank may be fastened together at the tank wall52 by welding or any other suitable way which will preserve thewatertightness of each.

To enable access to the observation cabin, an opening is provided in theupper wall 58 of the ballast tank 50 aligned with a similar opening inthe lower wall 52, and a tubular member 72 forming a passageway forentry and exit of observers to the observation cabin, is secured in saidopenings in a manner to maintain the tank 50 watertight by flangeswelded to said walls. The tubular access member 72 leaves the greaterpart of the cabin 12 open to atmosphere at all times providing airsupply and avoiding claustrophobia usually associated with conventionalobservation vessels. The tubular member 72 is large enough to pass atleast one person and is verticallydisposed when the observation cabin 12is in its lowered posiiion with the ballast tank 50 seated on the stopmembers 24, so that a passenger on the boat may enter the observationcabin 12 feet first through the passageway 72.

The ballast tank is provided with a vent 62 in one of its sidewalls 56,or top wall 58, which vent is near the uppermost portion of the tank 50when the tank and cabin are lowered, as shown in FIG. 3. The ballasttank is also provided with a water-inlet nozzle 64 controlled by a valveoperated by a manual wheel 65, and a waterjettison nozzle 68 similarlycontrolled by valve 70. The jettison nozzle is desirably located in thelowermost wall of the ballast tank 59 close to the axis of the pivotsockets so as to be under water when the cabin 12 is in lowered positionand so directed as to empty all of the water downwardly into the body ofwater in which the craft is floating when the observation cabin iscompletely elevated or in intermediate positions. However, forconvenient illustration, the jettison nozzle 68 has been shown, FIG. 2,placed in the upper wall 58 of the ballast tank 50.

Any suitable means for pumping ballast water into the tank 56 may beprovided, a pump 74, driven by an electric motor 76, being shown forthis purpose mounted on the deck of the boat 10. The pump is providedwith a flexible inlet conduit 78 which passes from the inlet of the pumpacross the deck and down the side of the hull to a level below thesurface of the water in which the boat is floating. A similar flexibledischarge conduit 80 is connected to the discharge side of the pump andpasses along the deck, being looped to provide added length, forconnection to the inlet 64 of the tank 50.

It will be noted that when observation cabin 12 and attached ballasttank 50 are in their upper position, shown in FIG. 2, the wall 58 of theballast tank is more-or-less vertically disposed, while the wall 52 isinclined upwardly and rearwardly. Accordingly, the major part of thevolume of the ballast tank is to the left, or rear side, of the verticalplane including the pivot axis of the ballast tank. Consequently, whenthe pump is operated to fill the ballast tank, the weight of the ballastwater will pivot the tank and attached observation chamber downwardlyfrom the upper fullline position to the lower, broken-line positionshown in FIG. 2. Opening the jettison valve through control 70 allowsballast water to flow out of the tank 50 under atmospheric pressureintroduced by the vent The buoyancy of the hollow observation cabin 12will then cause the cabin and the attached ballast tank to rise andpivot upwardly to the illustrated upper position, which is reached whenall of the ballast water has been jettisoned. Additional stops may beprovided, for limiting the upward pivotal movement of the observationcabin, but these are not shown. The portion of the tank 50, which is tothe right of a vertical plane containing the pivot sockets ea, acts as acounterweight to hold the cabin 12 in its upper position assisted, ifnecessary, by floating of wall portion 34.

The craft 10 is provided with any suitable means for propulsion as, forexample, an outboard motor, or an inboard engine, shaft and propeller.These being conventional, are not illustrated.

In operation of the described device, the boat 10 is run under power andat full speed, if desired, to whatever location is chosen for underwaterviewing. During this movement the observation cabin 12 is in its upperposition shown in MG. 2. Upon reaching the desired location, the boat isstopped, or slowed, and water is pumped into the ballast tank 50 byoperation of pump 74. As the ballast tank fills, the observation cabinpivots to its lowered position, shown in broken lines, the tank seatingon the stops 24. One or more observers then enter the cabin 12 throughthe passageway 72, seating themselves on the seat 30, and proceed toview marine life through the window 40. Upon completion of viewing, theobservers exit to the boat deck through the passageway 72. The jettisonvalve is opened by control 70, and as the ballast water empties out ofthe tank 50, the cabin 12 will pivot back to its elevated position. Theboat may then be driven away at full speed, hack to a mooring dock, forexample.

Although a certain specific embodiment of the invention has been shownand described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof arepossible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted exceptinsofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a watercraft for surface aqueous movement, a cabinhaving transparent portions for subsurface marine observation, pivotmeans mounting said cabin on said craft for movement from an elevatedposition in which the cabin is substantially above the water surface toa lowered pOSiliOn in which the cabin is at least partially submerged,and said cabin having a ballast-waterreceiving compartment positionedabove the water surface in the elevated position of the cabin, and awater discharge nozzle including a control valve mounted near the bottomof said compartment close to said pivot means.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said craft has a hullincluding walls defining a well open at both top and bottom to admitwater to the same level as at the exterior of the hull, said pivot ofthe mounting means being so disposed in relation to said well walls asto allow the cabin to swing in the well to its lowered position.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 wherein a stop is provided on awall of said well to prevent swinging motion of the cabin beyond saidlowered position.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said cabin when in itslowered position presents an upwardly opening passageway for entry andexit of observers.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein is additionally providedmeans for feeding water to said ballast-water-receiving compartment.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein saidballast-water-receiving compartment is a tank secured to that wall ofsaid cabin which is uppermost in said lowered position.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein said tank extendsgenerally upwardly when the cabin is in elevated position and has thegreater portion of its volume on one side of a vertical plane includingthe axis of said pivot means, whereby feeding of ballast water to saidtank will cause the cabin to swing about said 1 pivot means to itslowered position.

8. The combination set forth in claim 7 wherein said cabin when in itslowered position presents an upwardly opening passageway through saidtank for entry and exit of observers.

9. The combination set forth in claim 7 wherein said means for feedingwater to said tank comprises a pump 5 having a water intake and aflexible discharge conduit connected to said tank.

10. The combination set forth in claim 9 wherein said tank has a ventport situated in an upper portion when the cabin is in its elevatedposition.

11. The combination set forth in claim 10 wherein said water-dischar enozzle control valve is movably operable between closed and fully openposi ions, whereby ballast water may be jettisoned by merely openiwgsaid valve thereby causing the cabin to turn about said pivot and floatfrom its lowered to its elevated position.

No references cited.

ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION, A WATERCRAFT FOR SURFACE AQUEOUS MOVEMENT, A CABINHAVING TRANSPARENT PORTIONS FOR SUBSURFACE MARINE OBSERVATION, PIVOTMEANS MOUNTING SAID CABIN ON SAID CRAFT FOR MOVEMENT FROM AN ELEVATEDPOSITION IN WHICH THE CABIN IS SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THE WATER SURFACE TOA LOWERED POSITION IN WHICH THE CABIN IS AT LEAST PARTIALLY SUBMERGED,AND SAID CABIN HAVING A BALLAST-WATER-RECEIVING COMPARTMENT POSITIONEDABOVE THE WATER SURFACE IN THE ELEVATED POSITION OF THE CABIN, AND AWATER DISCHARGE NOZZLE INCLUDING A CONTROL VALVE MOUNTED NEAR THE BOTTOMOF SAID COMPARTMENT CLOSE TO SAID PIVOT MEANS.